Ex-Union County jail officer to ask high court for wages

A former Union County corrections officer who claims he was wrongfully fired after he helped prosecute a dozen colleagues accused of abusing illegal immigrants at the county jail in 1995, is taking his battle for lost wages to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Two federal courts have already knocked down the lawsuit Juan Espinosa, 50, has been pursuing since 2003, rejecting his claims that the county had promised to keep him employed outside the Elizabeth lock-up for his own safety after he helped prosecutors at a 1998 trial.

Espinosa, who is now living in Florida, filed a petition for certification before the nation's highest court. It means the court must first agree to pick up the case before it considers weighing into the merits of the dispute.

"The previous two dismissals were appropriate, we believe, and we're certain we'll be upheld again in this case if the Supreme Court takes it," said Sebastian D'Elia, a spokesman for the county.

Espinosa was a star witness in 1998 trial of several fellow officers who were accused of brutalizing and beating 25 illegal immigrants detained at the county lock up in 1995. The inmates were being temporarily detained under an arrangement federal authorities had with the county. The trial ended with 11 officers being convicted on the abuse allegations, which included claims they forced inmates to pose in sexually provocative positions.